Notes and letters are great

Another way to live a life of gratitude and show appreciation for others is giving or sending them notes or letters. Delivering a clear, cogent, and heartfelt note can do wonders for the recipient. Remember to highlight their genuine attributes, qualities, talents, skills, or accomplishments. It could even be as simple but meaningful as letting the person know you are thinking about him or praying for her.

Giving a sincere note or letter that would be encouraging to them and lift their spirit is of much value.

Emails can be useful, but may be interpreted as cheap and cheesy. Notes and letters are the best way. There are more advisable ways to give notes and letters.

Seven quality ways to give notes or letters:

1.Make and give a handcrafted note.

2.In your own handwriting, write a meaningful comment on a bi-fold card.

3.Mail a post card.

Make sure to write something to the person. I’ve received blank postcards before. I’m still wondering what they were for.

4.Write a “Power Thank You.”

My favorite version of the Power Thank You… was inspired by Heidi Wall, filmmaker

and co-founder of the Flash Forward Institute, and it has three parts:

Part 1: Thank the person for something specific that he or she did for you. (It can

also be something the person refrained from doing that would have hurt you.)

Part 2:Acknowledge the effort it took for the person to help you by saying

something like: ‘I know you didn’t have to do _______’ or ‘I know you went

out of your way to do_______.

Part 3:Tell the person the difference that his or her act personally made to you.

(Goulston,Just Listen.AMACOM Kindle p. 181.)

5.Give a “Sincere Thank You” note.

Dr. Giacomo Bono’s online article in Psychology Today teaches us how to

write a good thank you note:

a. Mention to a benefactor why the help or gift is valuable or important

to you.

b. Share how you appreciate the cost or effort they incurred on your behalf.

c. Acknowledge how special they made you feel and how special they are to you for

extending their kindness to you.

6. Write a gratitude letter.

There is a piece in Berkeley’s Greater Good by Catherine Price. In it she wrote,

Research by Martin Seligman, Christopher Peterson, and others has shown this one to be particularly effective. Write a letter to a mentor, family member, or some other important person in your life whom you’ve never properly thanked. Deliver it in person. Read it out loud. Bring tissues.

7. On ten or fifteen post-it notes, write down wonderful qualities about the person.

Hide the notes in different places he or she is certain to go, such as the sock drawer, on the

bathroom mirror, on the car dashboard, or under the pillow (not yours, of course).

What are some things you have written to express your gratitude for another person?

This post comes from Chapter 16 of ThanksLiving: Gaining a Perspective to Enrich Your Life. You can purchase your copy today. Just click the button below.